Assigkoe to emeeson



l l I IIIIHLIW (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. H. JONES.

STALK CUTTER.

No. 336,811. Patnted Feb. 23, 1886.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheej 2.

. J. 'H. JONES.

STALKUUTTEB.

No. 336,811. Patentedfeb. 23, 1886.

W l I7wa 7LZ3-7 v 7 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES HERVA JONES, OF ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO EMERSON, TALCOTT & 00., OF SAME PLACE.

' STALK-CUTTER.

EPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 336,811 dated February 23, 1886.

Application filed August 5,1885.

To all whom/it may concern! Be it known that I, JAMES HERVA Jones, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of Rockford, in the county of Winnebago and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Stalk-Gutter, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to machines employed to cut cornstalks on the ground on which they were grown, preparatory to fitting the ground to receive the seed for another crop. Its object is to improve this class of machines to render them more efficient.

To this end I have designed and constructed the machine represented'in the accompanying drawings, in which-- Figure 1 is a plan view of a machine embodying my invention, and in which portions are broken away to show the parts with greater clearness; and Fig. 2 is a side elevation, in which one of the carrying wheels is omitted to show the parts with greater clearness.

In the figures the several parts-consisting of the axle-tree A, with its axle-arms and carrying-wheels B, mounted to revolve thereon, the tongue-frame C, fixed to the axle-tree, the drag-bars D, and their connection with the carryingframe, the lifting and holding levers E, in their several parts and their connection with the carrying frame and with the dragbars, the seat F andits supporting'frame, and its connection with the carrying-frameare in every particular substantially identical with like parts of the machine secured to me by Letters Patent No. 253,869, dated February 21, 1882, and therefore a more detailed description of these several parts is'not deemed necessary in this specification.

Cutting-reel heads Glare constructed with alternate long and short radial arms H and I in such a manner that a short arm, I, shall be radially opposite a long arm, H, and these heads are fixed upon the end portions of a shaft, K, in such a manner that in the opposite heads the long armsin pairs, and also the short arms thereof, shall be radially opposite each other.

Cutter-blades L are fixed to the free ends of the radial arms of the cutter-heads in the plane of the shaft, having one of its end portions fixed to the outer end portion of one of the long Serial No. M31319. (No model.)

arms H, and its other end portion fixed to the outer end portion of a short arm, I, on the same side of the shaft, and in the same plane relatively with its axis and its cuttingedge oblique thereto. In this manner all the cutting-blades are fixed to their respective arms of the reel. In this arrangement the cutting-edge of the blades radially opposite each other will be parallel and oblique in opposite directions relatively with the axis of the shaft,and the alternate pairs will be oppositely oblique relatively to the axis of the shaft. The shaft of this reel is supported to revolve in end bearings in the depending ends of hangers M, fixed to the drag-bars rearward. A crossbar, N, is fixed to the uprising ends of the hangers, and holds the parts in their relative position.

A self-locking lever, consisting of an angle hand portion, 0, and a spring-supporting portion, P, has a hinge-joint connection in a manner to permit the parts to bend freely in one direction and limit their movement in the opposite direction at a point slightly beyond the axial line of its bearing-points,f0rming a lock. The forward end of the part 0 of the two-part lever is hinge-jointed to the rear face of the axle-tree at a point about the center of its length in a manner to permit a vertical movement of its free handle end. The rear end of the portion P of the two-part lever is supported to slide endwise through a bracket, It, fixed centrally to the cross-bar N connecting the hanger-supports of the cutting-reel. A spring, S, is placed on the spring-supporting portion 1? of the two-part lever, between its bracket-support and a collar, T, fixed thereon, in such a manner that when the lever is in its locked position, as shown in the drawings, its spring action will tend to hold the cutters to the ground to increase their cutting force.

lVhen it is required to raise the cuttingreel, the hand portion 0 of the lever is thrown forward, which will flex the lock-joint of the lever and relieve the cutters from the spring action, and permit them to rise by the action of the lifting-levers, and will be held in its elevated position by means of the spring-actuated detent engaging the teeth of thesegmentratchet employed in connection with the lifting and holding levers.

The construction of the cutting-reel with its oblique cutting blades is more especially adapted to cutting stalks in hilled or rowed crops,in which the plants have been grown on ridges formed to receive the seed, or in which the earth has been ridged to the plantsin cultivation, in which or like instances the oblique position of the cutting-blades relatively with the axis of the reel will conform more nearly to the inequalities of the surface, and with greater certainty cut the stalks.

In this instance I have represented my improved cutting-reel and its spring-holding mechanism in connection with a cultivator in which the cultivator-shovels have been removed and the hangers supporting the cutting-1 eel detachabl y connected with the dragbars, rendering the cultivator capable of double use-as a combined cultivator and stalkcutter; but I do not wish to confine the use of my improvements or any of them to the particular application shown, as they are capable of use in connection with other forms of carrying-fran1es or cutter-supporting frames.

I claim as my invention- 1. In a stalk-cutter, a cuttingrcel with cutter-blades located in the plane of its axis, said cutterblades having cutting-edges oblique to its axis of rotation, substantially as described.

2. In a stalk-cutter, a cutting-reel having the cutting-edges ofits cutter-blades oblique to its axis of rotation, and the cutting-edges of its alternate cutterblades oppositely oblique to the axis of rotation of the reel, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a stalk-cutter, a cutting-reel having the cutting-edges of its radially-opposite cutter-blades parallel and oblique to its axis of rotation, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. In a Stalkcutter, a cutting-reel having the cutting-edges of its radially-opposite cutter-blades parallel and oblique to its axis of pairs of radially- 4 5 of rotation of the reel, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

6. The combination, With the cutter-supporting frame of a stalk-cutter, of a cuttingreel provided with a series of long radial arms and a series of short radial arms arranged upon the reel alternately, so that each long substantially as arm will be radially oppositea short arm, and

cutting-blades secured to said arms, one end of each blade being secured to a short arm, While its opposite end is secured to a long arm, thus bringing the cutting-edges of the blades oblique to the axis of the reel, as set forth.

7. Thecombination,Withthecarryinglrame and with the cuttersupporting frame having a hingejointed connection with the carryingframe, of a self-locking lever consisting of a hand portion anda spring sliding portion pivotallyattached tothe hand portion and adapted to increase the cutting action of the machine.

JAMES HERVA JONES.

\Vitnesses:

J AOOB BEHEL, A. O. BEHEL. 

